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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521824">Delayed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewomanofwonder/pseuds/thewomanofwonder'>thewomanofwonder</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Airports, Alternate Universe, Chance Meetings, F/F, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Strangers to Lovers, it do be christmas tho, they are... so stupid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 05:29:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewomanofwonder/pseuds/thewomanofwonder</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Helena Bertinelli and Dinah Lance's flight are both delayed just days away from Christmas. A chance meeting at a bar leads to a three hour strangers to friends to lovers speedrun.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Delayed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinandmisery/gifts">sinandmisery</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i really wanted this to be much longer and i planned on it being much longer but i be busy and easily distracted and also i can only find the motivation lately to write for the hunger games au and school stuff so its a miracle i even got this posted</p><p>i do hope yall enjoy this though. just something simple and kinda fluffy you know? things are rough lately.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Flight 756 Gotham City to Palermo 13:35 — DELAYED to 16:30</strong>
</p><p>Helena’s shoulders sag in frustration as she stares ahead at the screen. She had somewhat expected it, in all honesty. It had started snowing late last night, and by the time she woke up the ground was covered in a thick sheet of white while flakes of snow continued to fall to the ground. The weather clearly isn’t optimal for flying, and Helena almost wishes they would just cancel the flight altogether. It’s not that she doesn’t want to see Luca and Gio and Sal, but they just visited Gotham a month or two ago, and Helena is not a fan of travelling during the holidays. It’s crowded and hectic and there are… so many idiots. They don’t know where they’re going, or they don’t know how to behave on a plane or they’re just flat out annoying and rude. She watches as a man raises his voice at the gate agent standing up at the desk and sighs heavily. Yeah. Being stuck in an airport on a Christmas Eve is going to be so much fun. </p><p>Helena turns to look around and adjusts her backpack strap on her shoulder. It’s all she brought with her. She’s only going to be in Sicily for five days, and she has plenty of clothes there already, so she didn’t feel the need to pack much beyond an outfit or two, some essentials, and a book to read. It isn’t a new book or anything, which she feels a little guilty about given the stack of books on her nightstand that she bought and never touched, but it is one of her favorites. <em>“Stop buying books just so you can never read them.” </em>That’s what Luca had said to her when he saw that tower of them during their visit. He had raised Helena with shelves full of classics, books of various languages, and the most beautiful poetry. <em>“Reading builds us, Helena,” he had said. “Stories and words, languages of all kinds… we are nothing without them. When you stop reading, you stop learning.” </em>Helena wasn’t sure she believed that completely, but she had kept reading up until she got so busy with work she kept forgetting to.</p><p>Helena is about to sit down and wait out the delay from one of the stiff airport seats when she notices the bar across from her gate. It has glass walls and an archway for an entrance. Inside, the floor, shelves, and bar itself are a deep reddish-brown wood. Helena is pretty sure it’s mahogany. It isn’t like she’s an expert interior decorator or carpenter, though, so who really knows? She sighs and crosses from her gate to the bar. 12:30 pm is a little early to start drinking, but she decides to cut herself some slack about it. She takes a seat on the black leather cushion of a bar stool and signals to the bartender to make his way over when he gets a chance. When he does, she orders a scotch neat. He pours it and then goes to tend to another customer on the opposite end of the bar.</p><p>There isn’t anything better to do, so Helena takes a sip of her drink and pulls her book from her bag. She lost the dust jacket a long time ago when moving from her apartment in the north side of Gotham to the one in the west end closer to her restaurant. All it is anymore is a dark green hardback book with <em>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</em> in gold letters across the front. A woman sits down in the seat next to her and orders her own drink; she gets a Long Island iced tea. Helena tries not to be pissed off about the woman choosing to sit directly next to her when there are at least a dozen seats at the bar available and several tall tables behind them. She only manages to read a few pages of the book before the woman speaks.</p><p>“<em>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</em>, huh?” Helena glances up at her and then looks back at her book. She doesn’t want to give the illusion she’s interested in conversation.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s a good book,” she responds.</p><p>“You’ve read it before?” The woman asks.</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Why not read something you haven’t before?” Helena closes the book and narrows her eyes at the woman. Helena tries to focus on the woman’s words rather than how beautiful she is, but fuck it is difficult.</p><p>“You sound like my uncle.” The woman smiles, and Helena groans internally because her smile is just as pretty as the rest of her.</p><p>“Is that a bad thing?”</p><p>“Well,” Helena says, turning on her barstool to face the woman. “I cannot stand my uncle, so…” The woman laughs softly and reaches out her hand.</p><p>“I’m Dinah.”</p><p>“Helena,” she says, shaking the ring-covered hand.</p><p>“That’s a pretty name. Where are you flying to just a few days before Christmas?”</p><p>“Palermo, or at least I should be. They delayed it like three hours.” Dinah tilts her head a little to the left.</p><p>“Palermo, that’s in…?”</p><p>“Italy.” Dinah takes a drink and nods like that information makes sense.</p><p>“Explains your name. Are you from there?”</p><p>“Sort of?” Helena says, brow furrowing as she does. “I mean, my dad was from there, and my mom’s grandparents were from there, but they met in Gotham and had me. I was raised in Sicily by my uncle after they died, though.” Dinah doesn’t give her the overly sympathetic or pitying look at the mention of dead parents, and Helena decides she appreciates it.</p><p>“The uncle that tells you to read more than one book, right?” Helena laughs.</p><p>“Wait a minute, I have read more than one book. This one is just my favorite.” Dinah smiles and looks down at the bar while absentmindedly nudging her glass from one hand to the other.</p><p>“It was my mom’s favorite book, too.” She takes a breath. <em>“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.”</em> Helena gives her an impressed look at the quote.</p><p>“So, you’re familiar with it, too?”</p><p>“Yeah, I mean, I reread it whenever I’m missing her.” Helena nods to herself. She understands, but she isn’t exactly a people person. Having emotional conversations isn’t her specialty. The two of them sit in silence for a few minutes. It should probably be an awkward silence, but somehow, it’s fairly comfortable. Dinah sighs and turns on her own stool to look at the sea of people walking to and from their gates.</p><p>“I don’t know about you, but I have nothing better to do until my flight leaves. Wanna take a walk with me?” Helena considers declining the invitation for a moment, but she is genuinely enjoying Dinah’s company, so she shrugs and accepts. She covers both of their tabs, even after Dinah tries to tell her not to, and then the two of them head out on their makeshift adventure.</p><p>They wander aimlessly for a little bit making small talk about their lives and what they do in their free time. Dinah is a proud cat owner despite the fact she’s allergic to them. She claims she’s single-handedly keeping the antihistamine industry alive. Helena respects cat owners, but she personally isn’t sure ever could own one herself. She sheds her mostly stoic demeanor when she shows Dinah pictures of her Doberman, Hades, from her phone. They argue for a moment about whether dogs or cats are superior animals, but it becomes clear quickly that they will have to agree to disagree. Dinah seems impressed to find out that Helena is the executive chef of Bertinelli’s, one of the more popular Italian restaurants on the west side of Gotham City. Helena opts to leave out the part where she’s also the owner of it, too. Dinah tells her that she’s a bartender at a bar uptown. She makes sure to specify it isn’t the Black Mask Lounge, though.</p><p>“Why won’t you tell me which one it is?” Helena asks with a laugh. “You think I’m going to try and track you down?” Dinah rolls her eyes.</p><p>“No, but I have to keep some mystery to myself to match up to you.” Helena pauses and gives her a confused look.</p><p>“I’m mysterious?”</p><p>“Hey, check it out,” Dinah says, ignoring the question and pointing to a screen at a gate as they pass it. “I’m pretty sure that’s the first one we’ve passed that isn’t delayed or cancelled.”</p><p>“Huh. Flight 822 to Honolulu,” Helena reads. “Good for them.”</p><p>“I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii.”</p><p>“I feel like almost everyone wants to go to Hawaii.”</p><p>“You don’t?”</p><p>“I’ve been. It’s nice. I’m not a big fan of the whole tropical thing, though. I get sunburnt easy.”</p><p>“Okay, so…” Dinah looks around at all the gates as they continue walking. “If you could take any of these flights which one would you take?” Helena gives a quick look around. She points one out without hesitation.</p><p>“That one.”</p><p>“Montana?!”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“I- Why?” Helena shrugs.</p><p>“I’ve heard it’s really beautiful. Plus, I’ve always wanted to see a moose in the wild.”</p><p>“I feel like there’s a story behind that desire, but I do not know if I want to hear it.” Dinah laughs. “There’s a coffee shop just over there. Want to take a break? I feel like we’ve been walking for a while.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Helena nods. “Sounds good to me.”</p><p>The pair stops in the small coffee shop, and, despite her protests, Dinah buys Helena’s coffee. They find an empty table to sit at together. Helena teases Dinah for getting a flavored latte that looks more like some kind of ice cream than coffee; Dinah returns the favor by mocking Helena like she’s a stoic and tortured literature nerd who just drinks scotch and quotes Edgar Allen Poe. Dinah reaches into her bag and pulls out a note pad and pen at some point while Helena answers her question about what some of her best dishes she cooks are. She draws a set of lines to form a tic-tac-toe board as she listens to Helena describe a garlic and parmesan risotto.</p><p>“I’ve never had risotto before,” Dinah says.</p><p>“I’ll cook it for you some time.” Helena says it like it’s a joke, but she means the offer, and she hopes Dinah can tell. She doesn’t want to make things weird by pointing out that she means it, though.</p><p>“I’m looking forward to it.” Dinah hands her the pen while grinning. “You go first.”</p><p>Helena rolls her eyes and makes an ‘X’ in the middle of the board. She passes the pen back. Dinah shifts the pen in her left hand for a moment as she thinks, obviously trying to develop a strategy early. Helena watches as she twirls it around in her fingers. Her nails are trimmed about as short as her own are, and she has at least one ring on every finger. They’re all silver or gold and shine just right when she angles her hand a certain way and the sunlight coming through the window catches on them. Helena’s favorite has to be the silver thumb that looks like snake. Dinah makes an ‘O’ in the top right corner and holds out the pen. Helena huffs out a small laugh, and Dinah can’t help but notice that it feels like the air changes whenever the woman laughs. It’s as if everything gets lighter for a moment. She wants to take a deep breath every time because it seems like the air has never been clearer. Helena makes an ‘X’ in the top left corner.</p><p>She watches as Dinah’s tongue flicks across her teeth when she takes the pen and starts considering her next move. Her mouth settles into a smirk. Helena hopes Dinah is so focused on their little competition that she doesn’t notice just how often Helena’s eyes keep coming back to her lips. She can’t help but think about how soft they might be. Dinah draws an ‘O’ in the bottom right and tilts her head playfully at Helena as if she can tell the woman is deep in thought about something unrelated to tic-tac-toe. Helena narrows her eyes at her like she’s mad at Dinah for making the obvious choice to block her win. She ignores the way her skin feels electric when Dinah’s gentle fingers and the cool metal of her rings brush against Helena’s hand as she gives her the pen. Dinah gets lost in the deep green of her eyes and thinks that if the hills and forests in Montana look like that then maybe she wants to make a trip out there, too. Helena puts an ‘X’ in the right side of the middle row.</p><p>Dinah chuckles at the move. She can’t blame Helena for trying to win that way, but the obvious moves will never get past her. Helena can tell from the sound of it that Dinah is absolutely convinced she won’t be beat at this game. Helena wants to be irritated by the know-it-all attitude she’s giving off in the moment, but for some reason she isn’t bothered by it. She’s fine with Dinah being winning their game of tic-tac-toe. Hell, she’s fine with Dinah winning at any game they ever play. Dinah puts an ‘O’ in the middle left.</p><p>Helena cracks her knuckles and taps them on the table gently a few times while she thinks. The movement pulls Dinah’s gaze over to Helena’s fingers. They’re long, which makes sense to Dinah for some reason. Maybe it’s that the Italian is fairly tall, at least 5’9”. The skin of her hands is worn from what have probably been much more than forty hours of work prepping and cooking at Bertinelli’s each week. Dinah can tell she’s the kind of woman who takes her work seriously and is always putting in overtime. Helena puts her ‘X’ in the bottom middle.</p><p>Dinah shakes her head in amusement as she takes the pen. There are only two spaces left. It’s not like she has many options. Helena looks proud of herself just for making it so Dinah can’t win. She writes an ‘O’ in the top middle and hands the pen over. With her other hand she raises her coffee cup to her mouth. Helena gets transfixed for a long moment watching how Dinah’s lips curl into a smile at her. She doesn’t even look down at the board as she marks her last ‘X’ in the bottom left corner, effectively filling up the board. Nobody loses. Everybody wins. They just stare at each other for what simultaneously feels like forever and no time at all.</p><p>“Good game,” Dinah finally says. Her tone makes Helena have to clear her throat, and she finds herself wishing she hadn’t finished her coffee already.</p><p>“You too.” She looks at her watch. Dinah checks the time on her phone.</p><p>“Shit.”</p><p>“Everything okay?” Helena asks in concern. Dinah sighs.</p><p>“My flight has been cancelled completely.”</p><p>“Oh. Well,” Helena says. “At least you can go home now?” Dinah grins.</p><p>“What? And leave you here all alone? I can’t do that to you. I’ve got to see you off to Italy.”</p><p>“You don’t have to do that.”</p><p>“I know I don’t have to. I want to, dumbass,” Dinah teases. “Come on, let’s walk around some more.” Helena doesn’t bother to argue. She doesn’t mind what they do next. She would have been okay if Dinah had gone home, but she was glad the woman was choosing to stick around and keep spending time with her. They both toss their empty cups into the trash as they leave and head back on their way through the airport.</p><p> “Okay, let’s play another game, yeah? We take turns saying whether we would or wouldn’t go to the place that flight is heading to and why,” Dinah explains.</p><p>“How do I win?”</p><p>“What?” Dinah laughs. “It’s not… there isn’t a winner.”</p><p>“This game sounds lame.”</p><p>“I don’t care. I’ll go first since you just did Montana.” Dinah says with a roll of her eyes. She looks at the upcoming gate they’re about to pass. “Alright, Orlando, um… I think I would go. It’s a cheesy tourist destination, but I’ve never been to Disney World. Might as well.” She smiles at Helena. “Your turn.”</p><p>“Okay. Australia. Yes.” Dinah waits for a moment until it’s obvious Helena doesn’t feel like adding anything else.</p><p>“Why yes? You have to give a reason.” Helena gives an exaggerated groan of frustration.</p><p>“Australia seems cool. I don’t know. They have some cool zoos and stuff.”</p><p>“Animals seem to be a common thread for you.”</p><p>“I guess, yeah. I much prefer them to people. Less argumentative.” Dinah hums to herself as she looks at the next gate.</p><p>“Houston, Texas. Absolutely not. My reason is fuck Texas.” Helena laughs.</p><p>“I truly cannot imagine there is a better reason to not go to Texas than that.”</p><p>“Thank you. Your turn.”</p><p>“Star City, uh. I guess? I don’t really feel one way or the other about going to Star City.”</p><p>“That’s where my flight was supposed to be going,” Dinah tells her.</p><p>“What’s in Star City for you?”</p><p>“Ex-boyfriend. He and our other friends from college are throwing a Christmas party. It felt weird to be the only person to say no to the invite, so.”</p><p>“Oof.” Helena’s expression is pained mostly out of sympathy for Dinah, but it’s also a little for herself. “Did you guys end on bad terms or did you just think it could be awkward?”</p><p>“Well, he slept with my ex-girlfriend, so bad terms is a bit of an understatement.” Helena has to stop herself from smiling at the new information.</p><p>“Holy shit.”</p><p>“Yep,” Dinah nudges Helena with her elbow. “What about you? Any relationship drama to share?” Helena laughs awkwardly as her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink.</p><p>“No. I mean, I had a long-term girlfriend and then fiancé through culinary school, but we just kind of grew apart near the end. It was a clean break, you know? Mutual, no drama… And we’re still sort of friends, so it’s not much of a story.”</p><p>“Wow, you’re so boring,” Dinah teases. She looks at a gate as they pass it. They’ve managed to pass several without discussing them, but Dinah isn’t complaining. “Alright, where were we? New Orleans. I would absolutely go. Especially during Mardi Gras. Now you.”</p><p>“Uhh… Kansas City. Sure. I don’t know much about Kansas City. They have a few sports teams, right?” Dinah nods. “And I’ve always heard the food there is great. Hard to not want to go somewhere with good food when you’re a chef.”</p><p>“Where’s the best food you’ve ever had?” Helena has to think about it for a long moment.</p><p>“Puerto Rico has been my favorite place in terms of food, I think.” Dinah looks surprised. Helena chuckles. “Didn’t expect that?”</p><p>“Not really. Okay, my turn, right?”</p><p>“Yeah, I think so. Next gate is the last one before we reach the end, so it better be a good one.”</p><p>“Cool, last but not least is… Cincinnati.”</p><p>“What the fuck is even in Cincinnati?” Dinah laughs at the question.</p><p>“I can’t lie; I have no idea. So I don’t think I would go.” They stop as they reach the large glass window looking out across the runways. They watch as a plane takes off down one of them. Dinah sighs. “Sometimes I forget how much I don’t like flying.”</p><p>“I don’t like planes either,” Helena says. “I do envy birds, though,” she adds with a whisper.</p><p>“Why is that?” Dinah asks in a soft voice, taking note of the way Helena seems so deep in thought.</p><p>“They aren’t bound by responsibility, you know? They can go wherever the wind will take them. They can do it alone. They can do it in flocks together. Whatever they want. It’s their choice.” Dinah looks out at Helena for a long moment before turning her gaze back to the now empty runways.</p><p>“I want to go together,” she says quietly. Helena looks over at her.</p><p>“Where?” Dinah shrugs.</p><p>“Anywhere you want.”</p><p>“I can’t escape the things I want to no matter how hard or try or how far I go.” Helena says with a sardonic laugh. Dinah turns to her with concern written across her face.</p><p>“What are you trying to escape?”</p><p>“Everything at this point.” Helena takes a shaky breath. “I just want to like… live my life. You know what I mean? I have all of these expectations from everyone, though. My uncle wanted me to be a fancy lawyer or something like that. His sons are still expecting me to find something ‘more worthwhile’ than cooking, too. Everyone who knew my parents thinks I should be so incredibly successful. They all want me to meet this super high standard my parents set, but I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I even want to. I just want to cook. It’s what I enjoy.”</p><p>“You should do whatever you want. Whatever you’re passionate about,” Dinah reassures her. “I don’t know much about the exact standards you’re facing, but I know what it’s like to feel like you won’t live up to what your parents did. My mom was a detective. A really good one, too. She was looking at applying to the FBI Academy when she was killed on duty.”</p><p>“Jesus,” Helena breathes out. “I’m so sorry.”</p><p>“Yeah, I mean- Ugh, I’m sorry,” Dinah says while rushing to wipe away a rogue tear or two. “I don’t know why I’m so emotional all of a sudden.”</p><p>“It’s okay,” Helena tells her. “I get it. I mean, I don’t get it. That’s such an awful situation. I just mean I miss my parents, too.”</p><p>“How did you lose them?” Dinah asks. She immediately backpedals, though. “I’m sorry, that was intrusive. You don’t have to answer that.” Helena laughs lightly.</p><p>“No, it’s okay. It was a car crash. We were on our way to my little brother’s Christmas program at school. Some guy was speeding thinking he could beat the red-light, hit a rough patch of ice as he did, and because of the worst luck in the world, he just… T-boned the right side of car. Helena Bertinelli, lone survivor.”</p><p>“Wait, Helena, was…” Dinah looks like she doesn’t really want to ask the question. “Was your little brother…?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Helena isn’t sure what she expects, but Dinah wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug is not it. She goes to push her away at first, but then she realizes she doesn’t remember the last time someone hugged her. Eventually Dinah pulls back on her own and wipes away more tears from her face.</p><p>“God, we really are two walking tragic backstories, huh?” Helena laughs genuinely.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess we are.” They both stand there just waiting for the other to say something until Helena glances down at her watch. 4:06 pm. She sighs. “I guess it’s time to head for my gate.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Dinah says almost sadly. “Let’s go then.”</p><p>The walk back to her gate feels longer than it really is. An awkward silence overtakes the two of them for the first time all day. Helena wants to ask for her number or something to keep in touch, but she isn’t sure if that’s too much. Dinah bounces back and forth in her head about taking the chance and asking the same question. The two of them agonize over it on their own the whole walk until they reach the gate. They stop just in front of the bar they met in hours ago. Dinah sighs.</p><p>“So, this is it?” Helena hums in confirmation with her eyes looking up at her boarding group listed on the screen. Dinah sighs. “Strangers in a bar in an airport for three hours. What more could we ask for?” Helena turns to look at her, and she can’t hold back.</p><p>“Forever?” Dinah laughs, but there’s a crinkle at the corner of her eyes, like it pains her to hear. She manages a smile, the big bright one that has had Helena feeling pushed and pulled like a tide all day, but it doesn’t meet her eyes.</p><p>“Wouldn’t that be something?” Helena’s mouth opens, something more ready to be said, confessed, but the static of the intercom near them and a muffled voice making a “<em>Last call for flight 756 from Gotham City to Palermo. Last call flight 756,</em>” interrupts her. Dinah punches her arm gently. “Go. You have a flight to catch.” Helena frowns, glances at the shortening line to board the plane to Sicily. She turns back, brow furrowed, ready to let the words tumble out, but Dinah doesn’t let her. “It was nice meeting you, Helena Bertinelli.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Helena says, defeated. “You too.” It’s awkward for a moment; neither of them really knows what to do, what the proper goodbye is in this case. Eventually, Helena’s awkwardness has her shoving her hand out to Dinah. Her smile grows, genuine this time, and she takes the offered hand, shaking it naturally and giving a firm squeeze. The soft pads of her fingers brush against the back of Helena’s hand as she pulls away, drag along the pale skin, a ghost of something not dead yet, and Helena wonders how it is that the touch feels wrong and right all at once. </p><p>“Go,” Dinah tells her again, and Helena doesn’t want to, but she finds herself walking towards the desk and giving them her boarding pass. She adjusts the strap of the backpack on her one shoulder as the woman scanning everything gives her a fake smile and a “Enjoy your flight!” She glances back at Dinah once more. Should she have asked for her number like she wanted to? Hugged her? Dinah’s hands are stuffed in her jean pockets, but she smiles reassuringly and gives a tiny nod. Helena tries to return the smile, but she’s pretty sure it doesn’t have the same effect as the other woman’s. </p><p>She heads down the jet bridge, one step at a time, and slides her backpack off her shoulder. A spare glance at the paper in her hand reminds her of her aisle and seat number, and then she’s unzipping the bag to put it away. The moment it’s unzipped, though, she realizes exactly what she wants, and Dinah did tell her to do whatever she wants. <em>“Whatever you’re passionate about.”</em> Her book is visible in the backpack, and she stops walking, exhales to release what she had been holding. Dinah’s voice from 3 hours ago echoes in her mind, so clearly.</p><p>
  <em>“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.”</em>
</p><p>And Helena can hear the laugh against the rim of the glass still, can replay their tic tac toe game move by move, wonders again what the fuck even is in Cincinnati, and she can feel it. The drag of Helena’s soft fingers against her hand, the coolness of the rings and the warmness of skin, the tingle echoing on her hand like the touch never left, and Helena gets it. The imperceptible feeling that something is wrong, but that it’s so right at the same time. It settles in her stomach like truth: she yearns for more. And Helena is turning on her heel the moment the realization hits her, running straight back out of the gate, ignoring the shout of “ma’am!” from the woman at the desk as she bolts after Dinah’s retreating form. She hasn’t gone far, is maybe fifty feet away, but she’s about to get on an escalator and Helena is not about to lose her like this.</p><p>“Dinah!” She shouts, pushing herself to go faster as she dodges all the people trying to swerve past her. “Dinah, wait!”</p><p>Dinah notices her name being called and turns around just before getting on the escalator. Helena reaches her a few seconds later, chest heaving as she struggles to catch her breath.</p><p>“You’re going to miss your flight!” Dinah tells her. Helena smiles sheepishly.</p><p>“I know.” She takes a deep breath. “I- Listen, maybe this is too forward because we are just two strangers who met in an airport, but Christmas is just around the corner and nobody should spend the holidays alone especially not someone so funny and kind and gorgeous and I know this really great Italian place on the west end. The head chef is a culinary genius. It’s usually really busy, especially this close to Christmas, but I’m sure I could swing us a table.” Dinah covers her mouth with her hand as she laughs at the rambling. Helena looks so hopeful it’s adorable. “What do you say? Can I cook you that risotto?”</p><p>“Helena Bertinelli, you are something else.”</p><p>“I know,” she replies, smiling like a dork. “So?”</p><p>“I would love to let you cook me a risotto.”</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p>“I know,” Dinah mocks. She smiles softly. “Helena?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>I’m going to kiss you now.”</p><p>“I know.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments and kudos are super appreciated. thank u for reading. please take care of yourselves ok?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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